"I would say that each person plays a role in his or her professional advancement. If I want to advance, I can."
Sandra Martin
Researcher in the Training Department, Crédit Mutuel Océan
In 2017, Crédit Mutuel Océan’s training budget represented 7.55% of the payroll. Which is very significant.
What do you say to recent graduates who are afraid of doing the same job their whole life?
I would tell them that they were right to choose banking because, particularly at Crédit Mutuel Océan, there is a possibility to change jobs. Generally speaking, we all start out in the individual customers division and then it's possible to advance to professional customers, wealth management or management. It's also possible to gravitate toward jobs at the head office, in specialized areas. All of that includes training. I would say that each person plays a role in his or her professional advancement. If I want to advance, I can.
How quickly?
The general approach is to start with individual customers for four or five years. It's then possible to advance and move toward professional customers, or management of a group of professionals, and then go to Crédit Mutuel Entreprise, which includes large companies. The company supports employees at each stage.
How is Crédit Mutuel Océan more in tune with its employees than its competitors?
Because our organization is decentralized, proximity is of the utmost importance; colleagues are managed by direct managers. To advance, it’s therefore easier to speak with our manager, who knows us and is in the best position to recognize our potential.
How do your employees manage to balance their training and their day-to-day activity?
For the first time this year, we introduced a Professional Qualifying Certification (CQP) for two groups of people who wanted to work with professional customers. Five people without a portfolio were taken out of their work environment to work at a branch as extra staff for six months. They had no customer constraints and could really focus on their work-linked training, which included courses and time spent at the branch. They could also attend meetings in pairs and schedule one-off meetings involving the tutor's portfolio, yet without having their own portfolio. At the end of this training, they were assigned to a branch. This principle worked very well: in the first group, everyone passed their exam, and the second group has just begun..
What means do you have to implement such a policy?
In 2017, Crédit Mutuel Océan’s training budget represented 7.55% of the payroll. Which is very significant. With the new regulations, I can already tell you that that’s not going to decrease – on the contrary. We are also focusing more and more on training courses that lead to certification, with skills improvement. Training is therefore increasingly important.
Is the result that your employees are more loyal?
In all honesty, there are some who leave, but very few. There are more people who come from other banks than leave. I should also say that we are in a region that is attracting more and more people. People from the Paris region or other big cities come here in search of a better quality of life. Not to mention that there are many who leave and come back. I can think of two as I’m talking to you!
We are focusing more and more on training courses that lead to certification, with skills improvement.